Open Gardens

About Open Gardens

Open Gardens is published by futuretext

Rated 8/10 on Blogged.com

About The Open Gardens Blog

I (Ajit) founded the blog on May 26, 2005 based on my vision and philosophy of OpenGardens i.e. the philosophical opposite of 'walled gardens' especially as applicable to the mobile data industry.

Today, the OpenGardens blog is one of the few blogs that span both the Web and the Mobile domains.

The blog covers wireless/mobile applications, open networks and mobile web 2.0. My vision behind the OpenGardens blog has been :

The blog is about the Mobile data industry and Digital convergence('Mobile web 2.0')
Analysis is more important than story/controversy. I don't believe that bloggers are true journalists. The blog is not about the latest 'story' but it's more about independent analysis/viewpoint
The OpenGardens blog is broadly about opening up the networks, growing digital usage and digital businesses i.e. we don't advocate closed networks, broadcast media etc
It is about disruptive digital technologies

Founder & Chief Blogger Ajit Jaokar

Ajit Jaokar is the founder of the London based publishing and research company futuretext (www.futuretext.com) focussed on emerging Web and Mobile technologies -including Web 2.0 and Mobile Web 2.0.

His thinking is widely followed in the industry and his blog, the OpenGardensBlog (www.opengardensblog.futuretext.com), which was recently rated a top 20 wireless blog worldwide

In 2009-2010, Ajit was nominated as part of the Global Agenda Council on the Future of the Internet by the world economic forum. He hopes to use this opportunity to further extend the pragmatic viewpoint of the evolution of Telecoms networks in an open ecosystem.

(Note: The Network of Global Agenda Councils plays a significant role in shaping the global agenda by monitoring global issues and elaborating recommendations to address them. Each Council, comprised of 15-20 Members, serves as an advisory board to the Forum and other interested parties, such as governments and international organizations. The Global Agenda Councils also act as the intellectual drivers of the World Economic Forum's Global Redesign Initiative, an unprecedented international, multistakeholder and multimedia dialogue that aims to develop a 21st-century vision of global cooperation. Members of the G20, the UN and other International Organizations have pledged their support for this initiative. )

Ajit is best known for his books Mobile Web 2.0, Social Media Marketing. Two new books ('Open Mobile' and 'Implementing Mobile Web 2.0') are being released in 2009.

His consulting activities include working with companies to define value propositions across the device, network, Web and Social networking stack spanning both technology and strategy. He has worked with a range of commercial and government organizations globally including The European Union, Telecoms Operators, Device manufacturers, social networking companies and security companies in various strategic and visionary roles

His recent talks and forthcoming talks include: CEBIT 2009;MobileWorld Congress(2007, 2008, 2009); Keynote at O Reilly Web20 expo (April 2007);Keynote at Java One; European Parliament – Brussels – (Electronic Internet Foundation); Stanford University's Digital visions program;MIT Sloan;Fraunhofer FOKUS ; University of St. Gallen (Switzerland); Mobile Web Strategies (partner event of CTIA in San Francisco)

Media appearances include BBC – Newsnight – 3phone launch; CNN money; BBC digital planet

Ajit chairs Oxford University's Next generation mobile applications panel and conducts a course on Web 2.0, Social networking, Mobile Web 2.0 and LTE services at Oxford University.

Ajit lives in London, UK, but has three nationalities (British, Indian and New Zealander) and is proud of all three. He is currently doing a PhD on Privacy and Reputation systems at UCL in London. Ajit is a fan of animation especially Tom and Jerry, Tintin and Asterix and likes the music of ZZ Top and other rock bands

You can contact me at ajit.jaokar at futuretext.com

You can follow me on twitter at http://www.twitter.com/AjitJaokar

See a video of my talk at CEBIT in Hannover
(intro in german - presenttion in english)

► MORE

July 8, 2009

Google Chrome OS – 12 winners and losers

I don’t do analysis on breaking news .. but this one is too big

Google Chrome OS is one of the most significant announcements and I am wondering how it will impact many players

a) Microsoft – Direct competitor. Impacted. Will be on the defensive

b) Linux – Bad news. Becoming less relevant

c) Opera, Mozilla – bad news. Google gains traction at a much higher pace – (albeit not usage as a browser yet)

d) Nokia – Needs to accelerate. Will be forced to react. No longer driving agenda

e) Standardization .. Interesting .. does w3c have anything to say? Google drives Web agenda at a much faster rate

f) Webkit on Android – bad. Chrome will be dominant within Android at expense of webkit ( UPDATE: amended to Webkit on android. Thanks Peter Vesterbacka!)

g) Web – good news. Web takes centre stage

h) Advertising? Remember Google is not in the software game(that’s why it makes ‘software’ free. It is in the DATA game and by extension advertising). Google keeps getting better

i) Netbooks, Desktop and Cloud – Netbooks – positive. Probably the real target market of the OS; Desktop – no initial impact; Cloud – Potentially significant impact but too early to say

Note:

Increasingly, the PC may be a narrow definition ie you may use the PC to access most of your info from the Cloud. Thats why Google Chrome OS is significant since it impacts the cloud and hence affects the PC. I described Chrome as the client for the Cloud and increasingly thats where its heading. Cloud or Fog? The battle for supremacy in the cloud is not a dogfight but will be fought in the trenches.

In that sense, this announcement is interesting but Azure(Microsoft) will have greater commercial impact!

Update:

Microsoft Azure, Facebook and Twitter could be more significant than Google Chrome OS for both Web and Mobile because Data is the real issue …

j) OEMs – good. They have a choice. BUT also NEW OEMS will enter the market

k) Alliance? Not like OHA. The GOVERNANCE model for Chrome is strictly with Google(see previous blogs about governance models vs. licensing model

l) HTML5 – Good for HTML5. Google will run with it. And by extension it’s good for the web

Any more?

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Filed under: Uncategorized — ajit @ 9:39 am

Comments (12)

12 Comments »

Totally disagree re WebKit. And Android.
The Chrome browser is based on WebKit, so this is just another win for WebKit. Nokia is using WebKit, Palm is using WebKit. And Apple obviously. Bigger challenge for Mozilla if nothing else.
And the ChromeOS announcement puts an end to the Android netbook speculation, so you could also see Android as a looser here.
Overall the ChromeOS vision is much better aligned with Google is all about than Android ever was.
Does Android have a future now in light of ChromeOS?

Comment by Peter Vesterbacka — July 8, 2009 @ 10:07 am

well spotted! I meant WEBKIT within Android. I see Chrome being more important on mobile and maybe part of Android in future. Changed. thanks Rhds Ajit

Comment by Ajit Jaokar — July 8, 2009 @ 10:36 am

Some observations:
- Chrome OS uses Linux under the covers.
- Opera can file an antitrust suit against Google just like Netscape did on Microsoft a decade ago, ie, product bundling of OS and browser

Comment by Don — July 8, 2009 @ 10:53 am

WOW! looks like Google is entering in the war of Operating Systems… But on Linux side, because ChromeOS is Linux-based (like Android), so GOOD NEWS for LINUX, we gonna win this war, hahaha xD
“Google Chrome running within a new windowing system on top of a Linux kernel”
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/introducing-google-chrome-os.html

Comment by KyRuX — July 8, 2009 @ 11:22 am

Re
>>
so GOOD NEWS for LINUX, we gonna win this war, hahaha xD
<<
Not so fast what I meant is we saw the same impact on mobile. OS (linux) becomes less relevent with Android(the whole stack). Yes, shipments may increase but relevence definately decreases rgds Ajit

Comment by Ajit Jaokar — July 8, 2009 @ 11:44 am

Re
>>
- Opera can file an antitrust suit against Google just like Netscape did on Microsoft a decade ago, ie, product bundling of OS and browser
<<<
ha ha! but seriourly both the browser and the OS are becoming increasingly irrelevent and the cloud is becoming more relevent which does not depend as much on the browser / OS – with the exception that the cloud may need a client. Increasinly I see Chrome(which is a mix of browser and OS) to be a client for the cloud(and there wil be other clients) rgds Ajit

Comment by Ajit Jaokar — July 8, 2009 @ 11:47 am

We invite everybody to speculate on the outcome of the battle ‘Google Chrome OS-Windows’. Is Google going to knock Microsoft down? Or Windows will never be defeated as the most popular OS? Tell us – http://www.votetheday.com/software/google-chrome-os-kills-windows-431/

Comment by VoteTheDay — July 8, 2009 @ 1:37 pm

It’s funny that through all of the google hype, I haven’t heard even one mention of Microsoft Azure.
I’d expect more comparisons.

Comment by saar — July 8, 2009 @ 1:47 pm

thanks Saar. I have modified the post. Happy to go on record to say that Azure will have a much bigger impact than Google Chrome OS. Probably a seperate blog kind rgds Ajit

Comment by Ajit Jaokar — July 8, 2009 @ 3:16 pm

Other big losers should be the anti-virus anti-malware and security vendors. Unlike Microsoft, Google have explicitly said that “We are going back to the basics and completely redesigning the underlying security architecture of the OS so that users don’t have to deal with viruses, malware and security updates. It should just work,” said Pichai.

Comment by Michael Mulquin — July 8, 2009 @ 3:27 pm

Good point Michael. Antivirus is also free from microsoft http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8095932.stm and overall thats a good thing(with both google and msft giving free antivirus)

Comment by Ajit Jaokar — July 8, 2009 @ 6:54 pm

I think the point of the Chrome OS is that it isn’t really an OS.
Presumably I could synthesise it with full-screen web browser & links to Google applications.
(Or by having a bunch of Fluid SSBs for each Google app – wait! I do this on my Mac today).
Underneath? A commodity layer of software (aka Linux) to make the hardware tick over.
The OS becomes the BIOS, the browser becomes the OS.
As for Microsoft being on the defensive? I’m sure the press like a fight.
But check out their research announcement from the day *before* Chrome OS: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13860_3-10280270-56.html – and also think back to IE4′s ‘Active Desktop’ in the late 1990s.
Mix in some anti-trust and you have a glimpse of what Google might have ahead of them. I expect they plan to use open-source will be their get-out-of-jail card.
Like ‘fake Steve’, I note that Google’s obsession with Microsoft is become a little eccentric.
Mandatory reading: http://fakesteve.blogspot.com/2009/07/lets-all-take-deep-breath-and-get-some.html

Comment by James Pearce — July 9, 2009 @ 6:18 am